Ask for the ancient paths and walk in it

Recently, I was reading the words of the prophet Jeremiah and was struck at the similarities of his message with the world we currently find ourselves in. It’s filled with messages of change and vitriol. Neighbor fighting against neighbor. Everyone doing what is right in their own eyes, all while pastors and priests speak messages of peace and prosperity—anything to satiate the guilt of the masses.

In Jeremiah, we find a reluctant prophet of the God of Israel to the Israelite people. His words are abrasive and damning. No trite “live your best life now” sayings here—just an indictment of the callousness of people’s hearts and their willful neglect of God’s voice. From the oldest to the youngest,  the common man to the priest, they no longer seek Yahweh or cherish His instruction. Then they take things a step further declaring that God has given them peace and wholeness when these words are nothing but empty, vapid lies.

“For from the least to the greatest, all of them are greedy for gain, and from prophet even to priest, everyone practices deceit. They healed the wound of My people superficially, saying ‘Shalom, shalom!’ when there is no shalom.”
—Jeremiah 6:14–15 TLV

They’ve turned from his ways to embrace the no gods of the day, worshipping lifeless idols, praying to mute gods that never answer, sacrificing their children to cold, spirit-less statues chiseled by human hands. From the marketplace to the temple, everyone has rejected the God of their fathers.

The Almighty speaks through the prophet, providing a clear path to rest and a life worth living, only to be met with a stubborn rejection and willful disobedience.

Thus says Adonai: “Stand in the roads and look. Ask for the ancient paths—where the good way is—and walk in it. Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We won’t walk in it.’
—Jeremiah 6:16 TLV

In chapter 7 we see a peculiar message from God to Jeremiah, telling him to go stand at the gate of the Temple of God. The church building of the day, where people were going on with their rituals and worship, unaware that God’s presence was absent. It’s here that he attempts to wake them from their blindness. 

As you read these words, consider for a moment that you’re on your way to church. An usher has just directed you to a parking spot, you open the door and are walking towards the front doors when you hear a loud voice disrupting your thoughts:

“‘Clean up your act—the way you live, the things you do—so I can make my home with you in this place. Don’t for a minute believe the lies being spoken here—“This is God’s Temple, God’s Temple, God’s Temple!” Total nonsense!

Only if you clean up your act (the way you live, the things you do), only if you do a total spring cleaning on the way you live and treat your neighbors, only if you quit exploiting the street people and orphans and widows, no longer taking advantage of innocent people on this very site and no longer destroying your souls by using this Temple as a front for other gods—only then will I move into your neighborhood.
—Jeremiah 7:2–7 MSG

How often do we do the same today? Religiously attending church for an hour every Sunday, only to return to our regular lives on Monday. We live the remaining 6 days serving other gods, neglecting to let the words of God change our hearts. 

We strive after the god of money, working to take care of ourselves at the expense of our families. 

We cheat and exploit our way up the corporate ladder, leaving no time to serve our neighbors. 

We give our tithe or offerings to the church, abdicating our responsibility to care for those without fathers or mothers—those who are alone and without support. 

We worship the idol of leadership under the very walls dedicated to God and peddle a message of self help to the hungry followers. 

We destroy our souls on the altar of modernity along with the daily sacrifices our culture demands.

Put your burnt offerings with all your other sacrificial offerings and make a good meal for yourselves. I sure don’t want them! When I delivered your ancestors out of Egypt, I never said anything to them about wanting burnt offerings and sacrifices as such. But I did say this, commanded this: “Obey me. Do what I say and I will be your God and you will be my people. Live the way I tell you. Do what I command so that your lives will go well.”
—Jeremiah 7:21 MSG

We think our self imposed busyness and manmade doctrines are making us better, but it’s only just hurting ourselves as we pursue everything except the source of all life. 

We cast off God’s words to us, words meant for our benefit, only to do whatever we feel like in the moment. And before we know it, we find ourselves mired in the customs of the world that surrounds us.

“‘But do you think they listened? Not a word of it. They did just what they wanted to do, indulged any and every evil whim and got worse day by day.
—Jeremiah 7:24-26

Oh that we’d turn back and change our ways so that God would move back into the neighborhood! That we would listen and obey the words God has etched on our hearts from long ago. That we would trade our self-confidence for true peace. That we would embrace the words of a Father who loves us and recognize our brokenness.

“‘So here’s what will happen to the know-it-alls:
I’ll make them wifeless and homeless.

Everyone’s after the dishonest dollar,
little people and big people alike.

Prophets and priests and everyone in between
twist words and doctor truth.

My dear Daughter—my people—broken, shattered,
and yet they put on Band-Aids,
Saying, “It’s not so bad. You’ll be just fine.”
But things are not “just fine”!
—Jeremiah 8:10–12

Oh that we’d pursue truth at any cost, willing to go against the grain of post-modern world. To be willing to stand out in our pluralistic society. To mend the fractured tradition of truth and righteousness so that we can be healed completely and wholly. 

To daily die to our own desire and whims by nailing them to our execution stake as we follow our Master’s example. To patiently endure suffering and the testing of our faith as our lives are purified like gold.

To love others as we are loved by God and call them to a better way of life filled with redemption and deliverance. To experience true shalom that extends from the heart of God’s Son.

We stand at a crossroads, a vulnerable decision repeated throughout history. Oh that we would find the ancient path of the good way and walk in it so that we would find rest for our weary souls. That we would grow deep roots through trusting faithfulness. That we would know with unshakeable confidence that His yoke is easy and his burden is light. And that at the end of the short breath of our lifetime, we would bear fruit that will feed our future generations.

Blessed is the one who trusts in Adonai, whose confidence is in Adonai. For he will be like a tree planted by the waters, spreading out its roots by a stream. It has no fear when heat comes, but its leaves will be green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor depart from yielding fruit.
—Jeremiah 17:7–8 TLV